How the Finnish survive without small talk
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Re: How the Finnish survive without small talk
#2"Finns think if there’s no important topic to discuss, there’s no conversation at all."
Nothing wrong with that. There's certainly too much of the opposite in the world.
Re: How the Finnish survive without small talk
#3Oh, come on. Most parts of Asia have no notion of a small talk, moreover, it is considered impolite and sometimes even silly.
Only almost formal, exceedingly polite and necessary conversations are part of the social norm, and you see, it is OK for a few billions or so.
Re: How the Finnish survive without small talk
#4I think I might be Finnish
Re: How the Finnish survive without small talk
#5Finns do love to talk about the weather.
Re: How the Finnish survive without small talk
#6Oh, come on. Most parts of Asia have no notion of a small talk, moreover, it is considered impolite and sometimes even silly. Only almost formal, exceedingly polite and necessary conversations are part of the social norm, and you see, it is OK for a few billions or so.
> Only almost formal, exceedingly polite and necessary conversations are part of the social norm
This does not describe Finland at all. If you go to a convenience store in Japan and buy a pack of gum, the clerk will go through an elaborate script of welcoming you to the store, reciting how much your purchase costs, how much cash they receive from you, how much change they give you in return, and thanking you for your custom. In Finland, more likely than not you can complete exactly the same transaction without either party saying a word (except maybe the clerk telling you the total).
Re: How the Finnish survive without small talk
#7(I’m a Finn)
I didn’t know what small talk was until I went to study abroad. Most of my foreign classmates often asked me things like ”how are you doing?” etc. and when I literally answered them what I had been up to recently they were very confused.
”Dude...no need to tell your life story, just say ’good’ and that’s it”
I replied ”Why do you ask a question if you don’t care about the answer?”
I learned the hard way, but learned still. :D
Re: How the Finnish survive without small talk
#8[flagged]
Re: How the Finnish survive without small talk
#9Oh, come on. Most parts of Asia have no notion of a small talk, moreover, it is considered impolite and sometimes even silly. Only almost formal, exceedingly polite and necessary conversations are part of the social norm, and you see, it is OK for a few billions or so.
> Only almost formal, exceedingly polite and necessary conversations are part of the social norm This does not describe Finland at all. If you go to a convenience store in Japan and buy a pack of gum, the clerk will go through an elaborate script of welcoming you to the store, reciting how much your purchase costs, how much cash they receive from you, how much change they give you in return, and thanking you for your…
In Norway cashiers have to recite much of that (and ask if you want a receipt) due to regulations. So I wonder how much of 'custom' is that really in Japan too.
Re: How the Finnish survive without small talk
#10Swedish has the same saying, but it's the other way around ("tala är silver men tiga är guld", literally "talking is silver but silence is gold").
It makes more sense like that to me, but perhaps the article just got it wrong